Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has awarded a contract for the construction of cycling tracks at Al Khawaneej and Mushrif.
According to Khaleej Times, this is in response to the directives of Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, and Chairman of the Executive Council, to transform Dubai into a bicycle-friendly city.
The project aims to provide suitable options for people to practice cycling, and as realisation of Dubai Urban Plan 2040. The new tracks extend 7km and link with the existing tracks extending 32km in the two districts, extending the total length of cycling tracks in the two districts to 39km.
Two cycling tracks
“The first track runs from the Quranic Park on Sheikh Zayed bin Hamdan Al Nahyan Street up to the intersection with Al Khawaneej Street. It crosses the street through the combined pedestrian and cycling bridge on Al Khawaneej Street to link with the existing cycling track in Al Khawaneej.”
“The second cycling lane starts from Mushrif Park near the Crocodile Park, extends up to the intersection with Sheikh Zayed bin Hamdan Al Nahyan Street, and then heads northward up to the intersection with Al Khawaneej Street. It crosses the street through the pedestrian and cycling bridge on Sheikh Zayed bin Hamdan Al Nahyan Street to connect with the cycling track in Al Khawaneej.
“The cycling track in Al Khawaneej and Mushrif is part of a master plan to develop cycling tracks and connect key districts of the city. The plan, which extends to 2026, includes the construction of additional cycling tracks extending 278 km, bringing the total length of cycling tracks to 819 km. The plan also seeks to link the coastal areas such as Jumeirah, Al Sufouh and the Marina with the external tracks at Al Qudra, Seih Al Salam and Nad Al Sheba along Al Barsha, Dubai Hills and Nad Al Sheba,” added Al Tayer.
It is noteworthy that the dedicated cycling tracks constructed up to the first quarter of 2022 reached 542 km. RTA intends to push the total length of cycling tracks further to 819 km by 2026 to link Dubai’s hotspots with various public transit means.
Cycling speed
RTA has set a speed limit of 30 km/h at cycling tracks dedicated to amateurs and tracks shared with vehicles on safe roads. It fixed a speed limit of 20 km/h on dedicated or shared tracks with pedestrians within urban areas. However, no specific speed limits are set for cycling tracks for training purposes. The overall objective of introducing speed limits for cycling tracks is to ensure the safety of both pedestrians and cyclists. (NewsWire)